American directors vs. directors from....everywhere else

[terry78]

We were discussing this in my sociology class the other night regarding movies, and one of the guys basically said that directors from other countries pretty much make better movies overall because they have a grander sense of substance compared to our cats over here. Of course a debate erupted regarding classic to current movies, and a good laugh was had by all. Do you see any significant difference in quality between directors from the U.S. vs. others, or is it just more of an independent thing, as I believe it is. I personally think Hollywood at times just gets enamored with a director who has done some indie flicks in their home country, and coupled with that non-American accent they're like, "dude, we are SO gonna get you on our payroll so we can appear avant garde and hip!"

 

[WeaponXProject]

It seems in America, Hollywood gets a director and if he does a good movie then he is pushed to do bigger and better things (a sequel, an action movie, etc.). Expectations become too high. For instance, Steven Spielberg has become soooo big that he has to top or match his biggest products instead of having his own projects on whatever he wants. He did do a few that were smaller but great like Schindler's list and Munich but everything else has to be a big budget summer flick. Same goes with James Cameron.

The only American director I think that is big and makes what he wants with his creative control is Martin Scorsese.

Foreign directors don't have as pressured into big budgetsas much as Spielberg and Cameron and David Fincher.

I will give more examples later but one of the reasons is that American directors do action or suspense dramas and those are what's considered big and better here, which to me...shouldn't be the case.

 

[dark_b]

It seems in America, Hollywood gets a director and if he does a good movie then he is pushed to do bigger and better things (a sequel, an action movie, etc.). Expectations become too high. For instance, Steven Spielberg has become soooo big that he has to top or match his biggest products instead of having his own projects on whatever he wants. He did do a few that were smaller but great like Schindler's list and Munich but everything else has to be a big budget summer flick. Same goes with James Cameron.

The only American director I think that is big and makes what he wants with his creative control is Martin Scorsese.

Foreign directors don't have as pressured into big budgetsas much as Spielberg and Cameron and David Fincher.

I will give more examples later but one of the reasons is that American directors do action or suspense dramas and those are what's considered big and better here, which to me...shouldn't be the case.

some directors just want to make big movies. and for this they need a lot of money.like james cameron. he is doing what he wants to do.

 

[WeaponXProject]

some directors just want to make big movies. and for this they need a lot of money.like james cameron. he is doing what he wants to do.

Not always, there are expectations on him from fans and Hollywood to be bigger. He has stated that until Titannic he didn't always do what he wanted he was pushed by studios to do flicks but he would not name the movies. I know he wanted to do X-Men, possibly a Spider-Man movie and I Am Legend he wanted but once Titannic was pushed and he I know he picked it but he had to cancel those projects bc of that. It's a shame. I would have loved to see his X-Men and definitely his I Am Legend.

 

[dark_b]

cameron is 10 years working on stuff tha the wants. there is no way that he listens to someone IMO.

 

[WeaponXProject]

cameron is 10 years working on stuff tha the wants. there is no way that he listens to someone IMO.

Well, like I said after Titannic he stated he was gonna do what he wants and hasn't done anything until this Avatar movie that I am excited about. That's like 12 year hiatus isn't it.

I guess this also depends on the type of movies you like. If you only like action then these American directors are for you. But if you like film, substance, story and more then you may like some smaller name directors like I do. I think studios will push directors to make movies or the greed pushes the directors and studios. Like Indy 4. It was $h!t in my opinion but sold well. Same with the new Star Wars movies. And now there is a Rambo 4 and a Rocky 6. I wish Hollywood would create new characters, new stories, move on but they pump sequels for money. It's a shame, too. The mythology of these characters can be ruined this way.


In my opinion over seas directors seem to have freedom and creativity down. They aren't making films for comercial sales but for the art of it all. I would much rather have a director make a movie with a passion and conviction behind his work whether it has a small budget or not. Not to mention the actors feel that way to. You see big actors flocking to small budget indie films often now. Pretty honorable if you ask me.

 

[Movies205]

We were discussing this in my sociology class the other night regarding movies, and one of the guys basically said that directors from other countries pretty much make better movies overall because they have a grander sense of substance compared to our cats over here. Of course a debate erupted regarding classic to current movies, and a good laugh was had by all. Do you see any significant difference in quality between directors from the U.S. vs. others, or is it just more of an independent thing, as I believe it is. I personally think Hollywood at times just gets enamored with a director who has done some indie flicks in their home country, and coupled with that non-American accent they're like, "dude, we are SO gonna get you on our payroll so we can appear avant garde and hip!"

You should just laugh in their faces for making such a stupid and general argument. Are we arrogant enough to believe that America's the only nation worth noting as a single body of directors? What about Italian directors? Spanish, etc.... Also perhaps you should of asked how he came to this wonderfully perceptive point, was it because he's an elite Ha)(orZ film fan who just seen a lot of foreign films or has he actually grown up in that country digesting all of its film industry's films? It's most likely the former, in which case, watching the very best films from a country, or really only the ones that would get distribution in the States is a ridiculously circular argument.

What's that college students are stupid pretencious nuckleheads that know nothing... Sorry I'm a film studies student and the ******ed arguments you hear just are unbearable, I'm sorry Terry

 

[Movies205]

cameron is 10 years working on stuff tha the wants. there is no way that he listens to someone IMO.

Cameron's over-rated

 

[WeaponXProject]

Cameron's over-rated

Hasn't been good since T-2 or maybe Aliens in my mind.

I'm not an action buff anyway. But I dabble and he was good with a few.